BLYTHE FERRY & CHEROKEE TRAIL OF TEARS

Around 1809, William Blythe, a Cherokee, established a ferry at this site to provide transportation for the settlers to the west, and the Cherokee to the east. During 1838 Trail of Tears, it was an important crossing, and it played a military role during the Civil War. Blythe Ferry continues until replaced by a bridge in 1994. The first picture of the plaque will remind all who read this, of the horrible inhumane acts committed toward the Cherokee nation. 

An Indian Prayer

I give you this one thought to keep,
I'm with you still. I do no sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush,
Of quiet birds in circled flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not think of me as gone
I am with you still, in each new dawn.
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand there at my grave an cry
I am not there, I did not die.